This Aug. 25 photo shows black columns of smoke rising from heavy shelling in the Jobar neighborhood in the eastern part of Damascus in Syria.

Written by

Deirdre Shesgreen

Local lawmakers were sharply split Wednesday over the possibility of a U.S.-led military strike in Syria, with the state's two U.S. senators suggesting they could support military intervention and other Cincinnati area-lawmakers saying they would actively try to block such action.

Sens. Rob Portman, R-Ohio, and Democrat Sherrod Brown, D-Ohio, both said the worsening situation in Syria demanded some kind of international response.

"The further deteriorating situation makes it clear we must take a leadership role in bringing this conflict to an end," Portman said in a statement. "We ...